Wheel rake



' 2 Sheets-Sheet "1. W. H. WILD.

'(No Model.)

WHEEL RAKE.

Patented Jan. 4, 1,887.

WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY (No Model.) Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W; H. WIL'D.

A WHEEL RAKE. No. 355,364. Patented Jan. 4, 1887.

ATTORNEY N. I'ITERS, Mlhhomphlr. WW U. R

NITED STATES PATENT -rrrca.

WILLIAM H. WVILD, OF VALATIE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLESWILD, OF SAME PLACE.

WHEEL-RAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 355,364, dated January4, 1887.

Application filed November 5,1885. Serial No. 181,881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. WILD, a resident of Valatie, in thecounty of Columbia and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvementsin Wheel-Rakes and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, thatwill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the to same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and totheletters of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthisspecification. Similar letters refer to similar parts in the severalfigures therein. 5 My invention relates to improvements in wheel-rakes.

The objects of my invention are, first, to provide reliable means foreasily and quickly dumping the contents of the rake; second, to providemeans independent of the dumping mechanism for lifting the rake-teethand holding them suspended from the ground; third, to increase theflexibility and hay-gathering capacity of the rake-teeth; fourth, torender the teeth-clearing fingers adjustable relatively to the teeth andeasily detachable.

Figure 1 of the drawingsisaplan view of the middle portion and one endof my improved rake, the other end (not shown) being precisely like thatshown. Fig. 2 is a side elevation and longitudinal section taken atbroken line xyin Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section ofaclearing-finger holding-clip.

The rake is made up in the usual manner of a frame, 0, thills D, axle A,and wheels B. The axle is provided with a friction or other clutch, F E,arranged to operate in the usual well-knownmannen One.disk,asF,issecuredto rotate with the axle, but free to slide longitudinally thereon, whilethe other disk, E, is loose upon the axle, which is free to rotatetherein. The disk F is provided with a boss having the groove m, inwhich slide the controlling-pins in the forked end of leverj, the latterbeing fulcrumed upon the fixed cross bar h. The cross-bars h and Z aresecured at one end to frame (land at the other to the axle, whichrotates therein, beingheldin place by the collars ff. These cross-barsalso support in suitable hangers shaft 6, to which is fixed the treadleT and upwardly-projecting arm i. The arm passes up through thewedgeshaped slide 9, adapted toslide to any fro between the cross-bar Zand leverj; or the arm itself may be wedge-shaped and of the proper sizeto dispense with the wedge g. Itis apparent, therefore, that when theoperator, sitting in seat S, presses down with his foot upon treadle Tthe sliding wedge will be forced forward in a direction to force thecontiguous end of lever 9' out from bar Z and the other end in theopposite direction, which throws the disks into engagement and causesdisk E to rotate with the main axle, the latter being driven by thewheels B.

The rake-teeth are loosely secured at their upper ends to the transversebar I, which is supported in the usual manner above the axle by uprightsa, secured thereto, and in which the axle is free to rotate. The bar Iis also provided with arms P, which support at their ends anothertransverse bar for supporting the teeth.

. The bar Ilies just over the disk E, asshown in Fig. 2, and'the disk isprovided with alug 'or projection, t, which comes in contact with thebar I when the disk is rotated, as before described, and throws itforward and downward, thereby lifting the teeth to the position shown bydotted lines in Fig. 2, which dump the contents of the teeth-as hay orstrawupon the ground, the hay being prevented from following andclinging to the teeth by the clearing-fingers b.

When the bar I has advanced to the positionshown by dotted lines in Fig.2, it comes in contact with the projecting arm K, fixed upon shaft 6,and forces the wedge 9 back again from the position to which it wasdriven by the treadle, thereby releasing the disk E from engagement withthe other disk, which permits *the teeth to fallback again by their ownweight upon the ground to the position shown in Fig. 2 by the solidlines. I am thus able by a slight pressure of thefoot to easily andquickly dump the contents of the rake. I

I employ the hand-lever G, fulcrumed upon the frame and connected bychain J with arm H, fixed to bar I, to lift the rake-teeth from theground and hold them in a suspended po- 10o sition when the rake ispassing over obstructions or in transporting it from one field toanother, or in case of accident to the dumping mechanism.

By connecting the arm H with lever G by a chain or flexible cable thedumping mechanism is easily operated independently of the handlever, thelatter being allowed to remain at restwhile the arm H moves to and frowith the bar I.

By threading one end of the clearing-fingers b, adapted to be screwedthrough a threaded aperture in clips I), the clips can be held firmly inplace upon the frame 0, the fingers being screwed through the clips intocontact with the frame on one side and drawing the clips into closecontact with theframe on the opposite side. By unscrewing the fingersthe clips can he slid along to any desired position on the frame andagain secured by screwing in the finger.

In case any of the fingers are broken or injured, they can be easily andquickly removed and replaced by perfect ones.

I prefer to make the frame chiefly of angleiron, as shown; but wood orother material may be employed when desired. Bycorrngating or bendingthe lower portions of the rake-teeth laterally to give them lateralcorrugations or sinuous curves, as shown in Fig. 1, the teeth arerendered more flexible and adapted to more What I claim as new, anddesire to secure by v Letters Patent, isp p 1. In a horse-rake, theaxle, the clutch consisting of the loose disk E, having the projection ton its periphery, and the sliding keyed disk F, the latter having a bossgrooved at 'm, in combination with the cross-bars h l, bifurcated leverj, fulcrumed on cross-bar hand having pins working in said groove, theshaft e, supported in hangers from said barsl h, and having arm is, thetreadle T, the wedge-slideg, and the arm passing up through said wedge,as and for the purpose described.

2. In awheel-rake, a clearing-finger threaded at one end, in combinationwith a sliding clip having a threaded aperture through the yoke of theclip, adapted to receive said finger, and a supporting cross-bar onwhich said clip is adapted to slide, substantially as described, and forthe purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have'hereunto set my hand this 18th day of June,1885.

WVILLIAM- H. W'ILD.

\Vitnesses:

WILLIAM H. SILVEMAIL, Y

EDSON R. HARDER.

